Needing a new summer purse, I bought this bag from Rachel Barri. It’s available with leather trim in either black or brown. Made in a rustic crochet, it comes with a long strap and a pouch. The pouch attaches to the inside of the bag by a leash. Although the purse itself is unstructured, it comes with a removable bottom to give it more structure. There are no interior pockets. This wan’t a problem for me, but might be of concern to others. The pouch could function as a pocket.
The bag has a leather-edged 4″ circular opening. Before stitching, check the size of your insert and make adjustments.
I had a Rachel Donley round I wanted to use. Because this round is only 3.5″ in diameter, I had to increase the size of the background for the insert to fit. I used a 4″ circle template and then extended the stripes. This made it easy to stitch. Because I did not want to have a monogram, I colored it in with a Comic marker and used the same stitch throughout to do the tea.
Purses can get a fair amount of use. In order to make it wear longer, I used smaller stitches and silk and cotton threads.
Inserting the needlepoint into the bag was a little difficult, due to the softness of the bag. Inserting a book inside to provide a harder surface would fix this.
With a generous size and a place to put a popular size of needlepoint, this bag is a great summer option.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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